Knit Gloves

ABSTRACT

The disposable knit gloves are made from a combination yarn, preferably a core spun yarn with a latex core and natural or synthetic yarn sheaths. A drawstring bag may be used as a dispensing container for the gloves.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser.No. 60/824,085 filed on Aug. 31, 2006, pending.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to a hand covering for the human handwhich is in the shape of a glove or mitten, and more specifically to adisposable knit glove.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Workers, such as electricians, frequently need to wear rubber gloves forprotection during potentially hazardous work. However, rubber gloves areuncomfortable and may irritate the workers' hands when worn. To preventsome of the discomfort associated with rubber gloves, workers may wearcotton gloves under the rubber gloves.

Current knit gloves used as underliners to work gloves have variousdisadvantages. Such gloves are not meant to be disposable, are normallysold in pairs, are heavy-weight, and typically come only in limited sizeselections. These disadvantages impact not only the economics of usingunderlying gloves but also can hinder the fit of the gloves and thetouch sensitivity of the user's fingers and hands. An objective of thisinvention is a disposable glove that overcomes at least some of thedisadvantages of the prior art.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, this invention is a disposable knit glove of unitary,single-piece construction and comprising a combination yarn.

In another embodiment, the invention is a method of making a knit glove,the method comprising of programming a knitting machine to knit a glovecomprising of at least seven glove components; a plurality of fingercomponents, one or more palm portions and a wrist cuff.

In another embodiment, the invention is a method of making a knit glovethat comprises a combination yarn in eight components.

In another embodiment, the invention is a packaging unit for disposablegloves intended for one time use only, where said articles are placed inone or more layers, said packaging unit comprising of a clear drawstringbag.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the invention are described below withreference to the following accompanying drawings, which are forillustrative purposes only. Throughout the following views, referencenumerals will be used in the drawings, and the same reference numeralswill be used throughout the several views and in the description toindicate same or like parts or steps.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a glove of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the glove of FIG. 1 having an adhesive appliedthereto.

FIG. 3 is a front side view of a glove container.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following detailed description, references made to theaccompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown byway of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may bepracticed. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail toenable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is tobe understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that changesmay be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention.

As used herein, a combination yarn is a yarn in which there aredissimilar component yarns especially when these are of fibre andfilaments. Composite yarn a yarn composed of both staple andcontinuous-filament components, e.g., core spun or wrap spun. Thecombination yarn of this invention does not refer to knitting from twoseparate yarns, such as an elastic yarn and a standard yarn.

The gloves of the current invention comprise any combination yarn thatprovides the necessary stretch and comfort features. The combination maybe a core spun yarn in which the core is an elastic fiber and the sheathmay be either a natural or synthetic yarn. A suitable elastic fiber forthe core is spandex, which is commercially available. Natural yarns forthe sheath may be made from cotton, wool, or blends thereof. Syntheticyarns for the sheath may be polyester, rayon, or cellulose based fibers(such as those sold commercially under the trademarks TENCEL, TENCELA100, VILOFT, MODEL, etc.). Core spun yarns combining these materialsare commercially available.

Preferably, the combination yarn comprises substantially all, morepreferably comprises all, of the yarn of the gloves of this invention,with the possible exception of threads used for stitching seams and/orthe material used for the ravel preventing edge portion.

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a disposable knit glove 10 inaccordance with the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a disposable knitglove 10 with a ravel preventing edge portion 11, a ribbed cuff 12, apalm portion 13, a plurality of fingers 14 and a thumb 15. The pluralityof fingers 14, the palm portion 13, the thumb 15 and the ribbed cuff 12are knit comprising core spun yarn. The edge portion 11 may comprise asewn over lock stitch designed to hold any loose ends of material inplace. In one embodiment, the ravel preventing edge portion 11 comprisesat least one heat fusible yarn. As shown, the glove is a full-fingerdesign, although open-finger designs can be used if desired.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the palm side of a disposable knitglove with a non-durable adhesive applied in accordance with the presentinvention. FIG. 2 shows a disposable knit glove 10 with a layer of anon-durable adhesive applied 16 to the surface area of palm 13, theinner surface of the thumb 15, the inner surfaces of fingers 14, givingthe disposable knit glove enhanced gripping capability. The edge portion11 may comprise a sewn over lock stitch designed to hold any loose endsof material in place. The non-durable adhesive 16 is easily applied tothe palm side of the disposable knit glove 10, has a tacky feel andremains tacky for a limited time; that time limit influenced by thecleanliness of the surfaces the non-durable adhesive comes in contactwith and the overall time of exposure. In one embodiment, thenon-durable adhesive 16 comprises a repositionable adhesive. As shown,the glove is a full-finger design, although open-finger designs can beused if desired.

FIG. 3 shows a front perspective view of the glove unit packageaccording to the invention. FIG. 3 shows a glove packaging unit 20 fordisposable gloves 10 according to a preferred embodiment of theinvention. The glove packaging unit comprises a pouch body 21 having adrawstring tie 22. The pouch body 21 is preferably composed of aresilient plastic but may be otherwise. Preferably, the glove packagingunit comprises a resilient, clear plastic that enables the user tomonitor the number of disposable gloves still available for use withoutthe surprise of “running out.” More preferably, in one embodiment, theplastic is polypropylene and the pouch wall is between about 1 to atleast about 8 mil thick. The drawstring tie 22 is preferably composed ofa natural fiber yarn but may be otherwise. The gloves 10 are preferablyknit gloves but may be otherwise. The gloves are placed in one or morelayers within the pouch. Further, the glove packaging unit 20 is of aconvenient size for easy storing and transportation. The drawstringconstruction of the container of the present invention provides a glovepackaging unit 20 for easily and reliably storing one or more pairs ofdisposable gloves without the destruction of the packaging unit itselfat the time one or more disposable gloves are withdrawn for use.

The disposable glove of the invention can be made by conventionalmethods that are well-known in the art. Examples and descriptions ofsuch methods can be found in multiple references, including U.S. Pat.Nos. 7,047,768; 6,981,392; 6,962,064; and 6,945,080, all of which areincorporated herein by reference. Generally, glove-making methodstypically comprise programming a knitting machine to continuously knit aglove comprising of at least seven glove sections: a plurality of fingersections, one or more palm sections and a wrist cuff. The gloves areknit over a hand-shaped form. Various methods will knit the glove indifferent numbers of sections, and may alter the order that the sectionsare knit. In one method, the disposable glove is knitted starting from afifth finger and then is knitted in the order of fourth finger, thirdfinger, second finger, a four finger body, followed by a thumb and theknitting of a five-finger body to comprise a glove with seven glovecomponents. In another method, the disposable glove is knitted startingfrom a fifth finger and then is knitted in the order of fourth finger,third finger, second finger, then a three-finger body, followed by afour-finger body, a thumb and the knitting of a five-finger body tocomprise a glove with eight sections.

In one embodiment, the glove can be prepared by means of a flat-knittingtechnique. Such techniques are well known in the art and are describedin, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,216,494 and 6,981,392, both of whichare incorporated herein by reference. U.S. Pat. No. 6,216,494 describesa method for producing a knitted article with a spatial main knittedelement and at least one spatial partial knitted element on a flatknitting machine with at least two opposite needle beds, a needledisplacement device and a loop transfer device, the method has the stepsof producing the main knitted element and the at least one partialknitted element parallel on the machine until at least the partialknitted element is finished and the main knitted element reaches a pointof coupling with the at least one partial knitted element, connectingloops of the main knitted element and the at least one partial knittedelement by a transfer technique with one another, and then arrangingloops of the at least one partial knitted element by the needle beddisplacement device on one needle bed opposite to the loops of the mainknitted element on the other needle bed, with which they must beconnected.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,981,392 describes a method for knitting a glove isprovided in which the glove is knitted by using a flat-knitting deviceincluding at least a pair of front and back needle beds which extend ina horizontal direction while facing each other from front and backdirections, at least one of the front and back needle beds being movablehorizontally in a racking motion, the flat-knitting device capable oftransferring stitches between the front and back needle beds. The methodincludes the steps of knitting a four-finger body through which a littlefinger, a ring finger, a middle finger, and an index finger are to beinserted; performing a rotational operation before joining thefour-finger body with a thumb sheath, the rotational operation beingperformed by transferring stitches of the four-finger body held byknitting needles to free needles and moving at least one of the frontand back needles beds in a racking motion so as to rotate thefour-finger body towards knitting needles holding stitches of the thumbsheath; and joining the four-finger body with the thumb sheath.

In one preferred embodiment, the gloves are produced by continuousknitting techniques. The ravel preventing edge portion 11 can be made byany convenient known technique. More preferably, the ravel preventingedge 11 is made of a heat fusing yarn, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos.5,239,846; 6,212,914; and, 6,367,290, all of which are incorporatedherein by reference. In one embodiment, the ravel preventing edge 11 isformed using a sewn over lock stitch adapted to hold any loose ends ofmaterial in place.

Preferably, the gloves are pre-washed and shrunk prior to use. Suchshrinkage provides a glove that is small prior to wearing. As such, theglove will fit small sized hands comfortably and tightly, e.g., withoutsag or loose fabric. The stretchability of the yarn allows the samesized glove to also fit users with large hands. As such, this inventionprovides a disposable knit glove in which one size fits all users. Thepre-wash and shrinkage is done with methods well-known in the textilearts. For example, the gloves can be washed in cold water and air driedwith warm, forced air.

The glove of this invention is useful for wearing under work and medicalgloves. The gloves are capable of absorbing moisture and protecting thehands during use. Preferably, the gloves are designed to be disposableso that when soiled, wet or no longer needed, the glove may bediscarded. Advantageously, the disposable knit glove may be ofsufficient thinness and light weight to minimize any in effects on awearer's manual dexterity.

In compliance with the statute, the invention has been described inlanguage more or less specific as to structural and methodical features.It is to be understood, however, that the invention is not limited tothe specific features shown and described, since the means hereindisclosed comprise preferred forms of putting the invention into effect.The invention is, therefore, claimed in any of its forms ormodifications within the proper scope of the appended claimsappropriately interpreted in accordance with the doctrine ofequivalents.

1. A disposable glove which comprises a combination yarn wherein theglove has a unitary, single-piece construction.
 2. The glove of claim 1wherein the combination yarn is a core spun yarn.
 3. The glove of claim2 wherein the core spun yarn comprises a spandex core and spun sheathsof natural and synthetic yarns.
 4. The glove of claim 3 wherein the spunsheaths comprise yarns comprising materials selected from the groupconsisting of cotton, wool and blends thereof.
 5. The glove of claim 3wherein the spun sheaths comprise yarns comprising materials selectedfrom the group consisting of polyester, rayon, cellulose-based fibersand blends thereof.
 6. The glove of claim 1 further comprising a ravelpreventing edge portion.
 7. The glove of claim 6 wherein the edgeportion comprises at least one heat fusible yarn.
 8. The glove of claim6 wherein the edge portion comprises of a sewn over lock stitch adaptedto hold any loose ends of material in place.
 9. The method of making adisposable glove, the method comprising knitting a fifth finger;knitting in the order of fourth finger, third finger, second finger, afour finger body; knitting a thumb; and, knitting of a five-finger bodyto comprise a glove with seven glove components wherein the glove isknitted with yarn comprising at least one combination yarn.
 10. Themethod of claim 9 wherein the disposable glove is knitted from core spunyarns.
 11. The method of claim 10 wherein the core spun yarns areselected from the group comprising of spandex core and spun sheaths ofnatural and synthetic yarns.
 12. The method of claim 11 wherein the spunsheaths of natural yarn are selected from the group comprising ofcotton, wool and blends thereof.
 13. The method of claim 10 wherein thespun sheaths of synthetic yarns are selected from the group comprisingof polyester, rayon, cellulose-based fibers and blends thereof.
 14. Themethod of claim 9 further comprising forming a ravel preventing edgeportion.
 15. The method of claim 14 wherein the ravel preventing edgeportion comprises of at least one heat fusible yarn.
 16. The method ofclaim 14 wherein the ravel preventing edge portion comprises a sewn overlock stitch designed to hold any loose ends of material in place.
 17. Adisposable glove which comprises a combination yarn, the glovecomprising a palm side that comprises of a non-durable adhesive whereinthe glove has a unitary, single-piece construction.
 18. The disposableglove of claim 17 wherein the non-durable adhesive is applied as a layercovering the palm side of a five-finger body not including a glove cuff.19. The glove of claim 18 wherein the non-durable adhesive is arepositionable adhesive.
 20. The method of claim 9 wherein a non-durableadhesive is applied as a layer covering the palm side of the five-fingerbody not including the glove cuff.
 21. A method of making a disposableglove, the method comprising knitting a fifth finger; knitting in theorder of fourth finger, third finger, second finger, then a three-fingerbody; knitting a four-finger body; knitting a thumb; and, knitting of afive-finger body to comprise a glove with eight components where theglove is knitted from yarn comprising at least one combination yarn. 22.The method of claim 21 wherein the combination yarn is a core spun yarn.23. A packaging unit for disposable gloves intended for one time useonly, where said articles are placed in one or more layers, saidpackaging unit comprising of a clear drawstring bag. 24-36. (canceled)37. A method for producing a glove, the method comprising flat knittingthe glove from yarn comprising at least one combination yarn.